11 Companies Which Have Rebuilt The World And The Way We Live

1. McDonald's

And that one move changed the face of Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) forever. An assembly line for food ensured lightning quick service and homogeneity of taste whether you had the burger in New York or Istanbul.

2. Facebook

FB today is the third largest country in the world with more than 1.5 billion active users. It’s redefined how people connect with each other and search for information on web. It’s become the biggest media owner of the world, without having created a single piece of it.

3. Disney

“I only hope that we don’t lose sight of one thing – that it was all started by a mouse.” – Walt Disney.

Ever since Mickey Mouse made his debut in Steamboat Willie in 1928, the Walt Disney Company and the animation industry hasn’t looked back. What started in the 20s as a small cartoon studio is today the world’s biggest and most recognizable movie studio, having made its fortune almost entirely on cartoons. And they own the ‘happiest place on Earth’ – the Disney Land.

4. Google

Google is the most important internet company of our time, and that’s saying a lot because we are the internet generation. Let’s look at google products. Search, Ads, Youtube, Gmail, Maps, Android, Chrome. If it weren’t for google, the internet would perhaps still be in the dark ages.

5. WWF

“The biggest thrill in the world is entertaining the public, there is no bigger thrill that that.” – Vince McMahon, WWE founder.

The world of professional wrestling is divided in two parts. WWF and nothing else. Back in the 90s almost every kid wanted to grow up to be Bret “Hitman” Hart or The Undertaker. Talk of cultural impact! WWF was the coolest thing to happen to sports. And it wasn’t even a sport.

6. Victoria’s Secret

"When I tried to buy lingerie for my wife, I always had the feeling the department-store saleswomen thought I was an unwelcome intruder." – Roy Raymond, Founder, VS.

Someone thought let’s put some pads and sequins on that cotton bra; let’s make it more burlesque. I wonder why that someone didn’t get a Nobel prize. VS started in America as a niche product, and has over three decades become the largest lingerie seller with more than 1000 stores and $6 billion in sales.

7. Amazon.com

“We've had three big ideas at Amazon that we've stuck with for 18 years, and they're the reason we're successful: Put the customer first. Invent. And be patient.” – Jeff Bezos, Amazon Founder.

It’s a mail order business for the internet generation. From a bookstore to ‘Earth’s Biggest Selection’, amazon is the Godzilla on the net. But the juggernaut doesn’t just stop with e-commerce. With Kindle, amazon has pioneered and dominated the e-reading segment (potentially disrupting the publishing space), and with Amazon Web Services, it owns the biggest cloud in the sky.

8. Zara

‘Instant Fashion’ has made ZARA the largest fashion retailer of the world (with zero advertising!). It means imitate the latest high street designs, ship them to its global store network at lightning speed, and sold at fraction of the cost. Where other brands took six months to launch new designs, ZARA launched hundreds of designs ever week!

9. Starbucks

Started by two teachers and a writer, Starbucks originally didn’t sell coffee, but roasted whole coffee beans and coffee making equipment. From there to 2.3 billion cups used per year, and an annual turnover of more than $ 10 billion, this coffee bar has come a long way.

10. Apple

You could have a book of quotes from Steve Jobs, but here’s a favourite: “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.”

Some made software, some made hardware. Apple made both. And that was Apple’s biggest innovation. It doesn’t reply on Android to power its phones. It doesn’t rely on Microsoft to power its computers and laptops. It makes all and owns all, like a boss. For a company which has Macintosh, Macbook, I-Pod, I-Phone, I-Tunes and I-Watch in its stable, it’s near impossible to pick the winning horse.

11. Gillette

There are two kinds of men who never amount to much: those who cannot do what they are told and those who can do nothing else.” – King Gillette, founder Gillette.

If you're told the way you shave was invented more than 100 hundreds back, what would you say? I'd say Gillette invented one thing and did such a fine job that they built the whole shaving industry. With the thin blade, and 'razor and blade model', which relied on selling cheap razors to maximize the sales of 'use-and-throw' blades, it was sheer genius.

And now with their Flexball Fusion ProGlide Razor they have REBUILT the shaving experience. Flexball by Gillette puts their iconic thin blade on rolletskates, to give you smooth, sharp, clean shave. With this, you can get rid of your 2 day old stubble in one stroke. Don't believe us, check this video.

It was bravery of these men which pushed humanity forward. They went ahead and did things which perhaps sounded ridiculous to their peers. But then as Steve Jobs said, "People don't know what they want, until you show it to them."

And if these stories have inspired you, go ahead and be part of another epic ‘rebuilt’ story. To know more, click here #OwnTheFlexball.